The other day I had an entire day to myself to paint. When I have a day like that I generally work on multiple paintings. That day I worked on maybe 16. When I finished I looked at my work space and took this photo. When I teach a class I always try to relay to my students that to be productive you should try to keep your work space clean and neat, organize your paint colors on an order that works for you, keep your paper towels nearby and your tools where you can reach them easily. Well I guess my moto should now be... Do as I say, not as I do ...
Abstract Landscapes in Oil and Cold Wax
Congratulations to my talented and fearless students who took my oil and cold wax class over the past 4 weeks. I taught this at the Art Department in Salem to 8 very talented artists. They learned the properties of cold wax, and numerous techniques like scraping, using squeegees, wisk brooms, and stencils to create texture. Each student worked on 3-6 cradled boards at a time. We shared ideas, laughed together, relaxed, created art together and made new friends. I will be teaching this class again due to the demand and interest in this intriguing medium on April 9th at the Art Department.
Here are a few of my students fantastic art they created.
Experimenting on Terraskin
Last week I took 15 new 6" x 6" paintings to my favorite gallery, Bush Barn Art Gallery in Salem, Oregon. Salem Art Association These were so much fun to create that you may see more in the future.
They were created after experimenting ( which I love to do) with a new paper named "Terraskin." More information on this can be found at www.terraskin.com.
New Endeavors
It's been quite awhile since I've posted an entry....
My new website is powered by Squarespace. My daughter Jenny is a Customer Service Advisor for Squarespce and helped me develop this wonderful new exciting look.
Many things happened this year. I had a solo show at Lunaria Gallery in Silverton where I showed over 50 pieces of art, cold wax paintings and assemblage pieces.
I've been busy teaching at The Art Department in Salem where I've been teaching oil & cold wax and plaster classes. My next class in oil and cold wax will be in January.
River Gallery in Independence had a wonderful show entitled "This Oregon Life" where I exhibited a 30" x 40" piece. Salem Art Association had a show entitled Radius 25, "Walkabout" where I was interviewed about my exhibited art "Evening Harmony" by Downtown Salem Strong.
I took an exciting 4 day workshop in Portland which was held through the Watercolor Society of Oregon were I am a member. The workshop was with the very knowledgeable and prolific artist Robert Burridge. He is such a characher with lots of funny stories and very open about sharing his secrets and wealth of marketing knowledge. And did I say "I love his art!"
This year has been very busy. My art groups, art galleries and art friends always keep me focused and push me in ways that help me strive to be a better person and a better artist.
"Dark Haven", 12" x 16", oil & cold wax
"Well Balanced", 16" x 24", oil & cold wax
Oil & Wax Obsession
I was first introduced to this wonderful medium in 2011 when I took a workshop at Sitka Center for Art and Ecology from Allen Cox. Since then, I've produced over 60 new pieces of art in cold wax. I am a gallery artist for Salem Art Association/Bush Barn Art Center where they asked me to be a featured artist last year. I was able to displayed 10 of my new pieces on a 25 ft wall and this opportunity will be repeated in June/July 2015. This opportunity helped push my personal boundaries with this wonderful medium.
I've struggled for the the past few years to find one medium that puts the spark in my creative juices. Oil and cold wax has certainly done that. With a lot of positive feedback from friends and fellow artists I have been teaching classes at Art Department in Salem, Oregon. www.artdepartmentsupply.com
"Differences", 24" x 24", Oil & Cold Wax